Page 87 of Hunted to Be Mine

I waited. Timed my move. He couldn’t hold that focus forever. Three seconds. Five. Eight.

He moved on, turning into the next aisle.

I climbed. The metal creaked, but I spread my weight, moving from brace to brace. The papers rasped against my chest.

Below, he stopped. His head snapped up, eyes searching the rafters. I froze.

“Status?” Selina asked, her voice a thread in my ear.

I didn’t answer. Blackout stood under me at an angle, sensing more than seeing. He reached to his belt.

Not a gun. A small device. He pressed it.

The signal jammer released a high-pitched whine in my ear, and Selina’s voice dissolved into static.

Alone now. I hauled myself onto the top tier. The metal groaned.

Blackout turned toward me. Face hidden. He moved with smooth, steady purpose, closing in.

I stayed low and crawled along the rack near the ceiling. Below, he matched my path. He wasn’t chasing sound. He was predicting me. Same training. Same playbook. Every time I shifted, he adjusted, cutting the angle.

I needed to do something stupid. A skylight sat thirty feet ahead. The drop would break bones. Maybe worse. Bad idea.

Which made it perfect.

I waited until he drifted to the far end of a different corridor, then shoved a small box off the opposite side. It hit concrete hard.

He pivoted toward the noise.

I ran quietly for the skylight, files clamped to my chest.

At the frame, my fingers found the emergency release. Stiff from years of neglect. I leaned on it until it began to give.

Below, he knew. He changed course fast and started to climb. The shelving complained under his weight.

The latch gave. The skylight swung open and cold air rushed in. I pulled up onto the roof and paused.

A bad plan. Only one shot.

When his head cleared the opening, I was ready. My boot cracked into his face. He dropped out of sight. Seconds bought.

I ran across the roof. The cold bit at my chest. I hit the edge and jumped to the next building, rolling on impact.

Static cleared in my ear as I got beyond the jammer.

“…hear me? Specter? Please respond!” Selina’s voice snapped back in, raw with fear.

Hearing her warmed something I didn’t have a name for.

“I’m clear.” I kept moving across rooftops. “With the records. Heading to the extraction point.”

Her voice eased. “Come back to me.”

For the first time in what little I remember, I wasn’t moving for duty. I was keeping a promise.

Chapter 20

Specter